


We Could Love Once Again

by america_chavez, magicianprince, vityuu (nanahoney)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, Minor Character Death, victor is purple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-14 16:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11212269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/america_chavez/pseuds/america_chavez, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianprince/pseuds/magicianprince, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanahoney/pseuds/vityuu
Summary: In a galaxy succumbing to all-out war, Yuuri Katsuki and Victor Nikiforov’s paths continue to intersect, whether they realize it or not. Princes of their respective planets, they decide that there’s little that they won’t do to end the conflict between their people.





	1. Head Full of Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a collab piece, [Leni (@magicianprince),](http://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianprince/pseuds/magicianprince) [Emma (@vityuu)](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nanahoney/pseuds/vityuu) and I have been working on for the past month or so. Each one of us worked on a chapter and were paired up with an artist that illustrated a scene from the fic! 
> 
> This is officially the longest fic I've worked on! My chapter, Roses in the Moonlight, is over 5.5K long! My teammates are each 3K respectively. 
> 
> We had so much fun on this and we sincerely hope you all enjoy it with us!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor meet as children for the first time, unknowning they will cross paths again in the future and that the fate of their planets will rely on them for peace.

_Thirteen solar revolutions before the Naelean-Echean Treaty._

Through the crowd came the glint of silver.

Yuuri, second heir to the Naelean throne, squinted. From his position at the edge of the festivities, trying to follow the gleam with his eyes was difficult; there were delegations representing thirty-one species from around the galaxy at the Tylaln Gala this year, and the eccentric mix of fashions and appearances made finding the source of any one color almost impossible. The normally unremarkable banquet hall had been transformed into a chamber of decadence, with lights strung everywhere and food and drink flowing freely. Overhead, the galaxy’s constellations shone down on the festivities through a clear window. Red and gold decorations made the colors feel even more rich and more overwhelming.

Still, Yuuri focused on the silver. If he did that, then the crushing noise of the room died down a little in his head.

Every two years, in the name of peace and unity, a different sovereign hosted the gala. At age eight, it was Yuuri’s first time attending. His older sister, Mari, had teased him so much about being too little to join the celebrations that he had begged to go for years—and finally, after it had become their planet’s turn to play host, Yuuri’s parents had relented. As long as Yuuri stayed close to the guards and to his friend, Phichit, then Yuuri could stay and watch the festivities.

Yuuri just wished he had known it was going to be so _loud_.

He didn’t realize that his grip on Phichit’s hand had turned desperate until Phichit winced beside him. Mumbling an apology, Yuuri let him go, fidgeting instead with his own formal clothing.

“Are you okay, Yuuri?” Phichit asked. He was the son of one of the king’s advisers. He was a year younger than Yuuri, and since the two had been introduced, it was rare to see Yuuri or Phichit without each other.

“I don’t know,” Yuuri said. Phichit took his hand again.

“Do you wanna sneak out?”

Phichit was grinning, his expression altogether too innocent. Yuuri cast him a severe look, trying to mimic the way his own mother looked whenever Yuuri even thought of doing something bad. “You know we’re not supposed to leave.”

“Just for a second? It’s so stuffy in here, and no one would notice if it was only for a minute,” Phichit coaxed, voice low even though it was unlikely they’d be heard over the music and conversation in the hall. He was probably right—the guards around them looked more invested in whatever song the orchestra was beginning to play than they did in watching Yuuri and Phichit. Yuuri didn’t even know why they had guards at a gala supposedly celebrating peace.

Across the room, Mari met Yuuri’s eyes and stuck her tongue out before disappearing into the crowd.

“Fine,” Yuuri agreed. “But let’s wait until people start dancing.”

The orchestra played agonizingly slowly through two more songs before an official called for the main floor to be cleared. Guests hurried to move out of the way and search for dance partners. In the shuffle, Phichit grabbed Yuuri’s arm and tugged him towards the doorway that connected to the kitchens. As Phichit had predicted, not even the cooks noticed their departure; the kitchen staff was too concentrated on work to pay much attention to the two small children ducking around them.

The kitchen connected from there to a long, empty hallway. Yuuri let out a relieved sigh as soon as the door closed behind them, muffling the sounds of the gala.

“Better?” Phichit asked.

“Much better,” Yuuri said. He hesitated. “Can we move farther away?”

“Of course.”

Ignoring the guilty feeling that told him to go back to the gala like his parents would’ve wanted, Yuuri moved down the hallway until the noise of the celebration faded away completely. He and Phichit stood in front of the door to one of the palace’s smaller libraries, the scanner panel beside it lit up in the dim hallway. Yuuri took a moment to savor the calm. He already felt a million times better. Phichit had probably just suggested they sneak out because he was bored, but Yuuri was still grateful, and—

From within the library someone snarled.

It was a sound full of rage. Fear shot through Yuuri’s heart. He and Phichit looked to each other with wide eyes, wondering what on earth could have made such a sound.

Two voices rose from behind the closed door—Yuuri only relaxed a little once he realized that it must’ve been two guests for the gala. Judging from their tones, they were having an argument. They were speaking in a language that Yuuri couldn’t understand or identify. One voice was growing steadily louder, almost to the point of shouting, while the other stayed level and firm.

“What should we do?” Phichit whispered.

Before Yuuri could respond, the sound of something shattering reached their ears.

What if…what if this was some sort of plot? It seemed like something out of a book, that someone might wait until the night of a peace gala to try and hurt someone, but once Yuuri thought of the possibility he couldn’t get it out of his head. There was no one around to help; maybe the calm person inside knew that, and so wasn’t bothering to shout for it. Instead, Yuuri could hear them speaking in a soothing tone of voice—but there was a quickness there that wasn’t there before.

If someone was going to help, it was up to Yuuri.

Yuuri slapped his hand against the scanner panel. As soon as the door slid open, he burst into the room with a shout.

“Don’t do it!”

Absolute quiet met his ears.

Two people looked back at him. One had blond hair, the other silver—but what caught Yuuri’s attention was the way that their skin caught the light in such a way that, much like in the banquet hall, it was difficult to pick out which color to focus on. Holographic skin. Yuuri realized that these must have been Echeans, from the planet Vallis. Yuuri had never met one in person, but he had overheard his parents discussing their presence at the gala tonight. They were notorious for their strange cuisine, their eye-catching appearances, and finding excuses to miss the peace celebrations.

The silver-haired boy recovered from his surprise first.

“I’m so sorry, my cousin is upset. We will pay for the damages.” He gestured towards the floor, where a broken vase lay.

Yuuri gaped. It was all he could do to stammer out, “Oh, I—it’s fine, I thought…”

“You were trying to save my life?” The taller of the two spoke again, looking utterly delighted. “It’s alright. My brother was having a…ah…”

“Temper tantrum?” Phichit supplied from behind Yuuri, and then snickered.

It was then that Yuuri noticed that the shorter Echean had his arms crossed over his chest. He was turned away from the three of him, pointedly not looking at Yuuri, Phichit, or Victor. The way his face was scrunched up reminded Yuuri of a disgruntled cat.

“Yes,” the taller of the two said, looking amused. “His name is Yuri, and mine is Victor. I am sorry again about the vase.”

“My name is also Yuuri, and this is Phichit. There’s no need to worry about the vase. It was an accident,” Yuuri replied. Victor was being so formal that Yuuri felt he should also respond politely, even though it seemed like Victor was only a little bit older than he was. It was also funny, Yuuri thought, that two different species could have a name that sounded so similar.

Phichit crept farther into the room now that there was no threat of danger. “What were you doing in here, anyway?”

Victor smiled. He looked remarkably Naelean when he did so; Yuuri noted that he had a nice smile, an easygoing expression that lit up his clear blue eyes. “Well, to tell the truth, we heard that the king and queen had an amazing garden around here. I thought that I’d be able to find it easily, but we got lost looking for it.”

The king and queen’s garden, located in this area of the palace… “I know where that is,” Yuuri said without thinking.

Yuri finally looked up, his gaze intense. Any nervousness Yuuri might have felt about being looked at so severely was dulled by the fact that Yuri appeared even younger than Phichit. “You do?”

“Yes, yes, I go there often,” Yuuri told him. “I can show you, if you want?”

Phichit tugged at Yuuri’s sleeve. “Hey…should we really go that far?”

Probably not. But both Yuri and Victor were looking at him hopefully, and Yuuri always calmed down when he went to that garden, and being as far away from the gala as possible sounded fantastic. He took a deep breath. “It’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

They filed out of the library as one group, Yuuri hoping that he would remember to tell an adult about the broken vase later. Throughout their journey following the palace’s halls, Victor kept up a cheerful line of conversation that Phichit and Yuuri hung onto eagerly. Yuri, walking alongside them, only glared.

“This is my first time at the gala, too,” Victor said. “I wasn’t expecting how long it would take to travel here. Our planets are really far apart, aren’t they?”

“I’ve never been off-planet,” said Yuuri, staring intently at Victor. “What is it like?”

“Hmm…” Victor mused, tapping a finger against his lips in a thoughtful gesture. “It was exciting at first, and then it got boring. Well, unless we passed by something interesting. But space starts to look all the same after a while.”

Yuuri tried to imagine it—leaving Nael behind, looking down to see his home disappearing and then looking up as he grew closer to the stars. The thought sent anxiety churning through his stomach, heavy and impossible to ignore, but a small part of him wished he could try it right then. Yuuri couldn’t imagine feeling _bored_ up there. In any case, he wouldn’t go by himself. He would take his parents with him, and his sister, and Phichit, and—and it would be fun to go with Victor and Yuri, to show them that every star was different and exciting.

Eventually, they reached the door that separated the garden from the rest of the world. Unlike the library, only greenhouse staff and the king and queen’s family were allowed to enter.

Yuuri placed his hand over the scanner without a word.

Victor and Yuri didn’t need to know that he was a prince; they were having enough fun without Yuuri’s station coming into the equation. They might also be embarrassed to know that even if they had found the garden, they wouldn’t have been able to get in.

Stepping into the greenhouse, Victor and Yuri gazed open-mouthed at the astounding spread of greenery. Plants looked different on every planet they appeared on, and the king and queen had amassed quite the collection of foreign and local foliage alike. Yuuri and Phichit lead the two Echeans around the greenhouse, pointing out the names of different plants and rattling off facts about them if they knew any. This time, it was Victor’s turn to hang off their every word.

“This is much better than if we had found the garden ourselves,” Victor announced midway through their tour. “We would have just stared without really knowing anything.”

“What’s with that one?” Yuri asked, pointing to a dark green plant near the edge of the garden. “It’s just leaves.”

“That’s called a whislet. There’s a flower underneath,” Yuuri explained. “If the plant senses a noise too loud, then its leaves fold to cover the flower like it’s doing right now. But if we were quiet enough then we could see the flower.”

“You sure know a lot,” Victor marveled. Yuuri tried not to grin too widely, but he couldn’t help feeling a little smug.

“I want to see,” Yuri said.

Crowding around the plant, the four settled in, trying to get comfortable so that they wouldn’t move and make any noise. The minutes ticked by.

Yuri began to fidget. The plant’s leaves stayed firmly shut.

“Shhh,” Yuuri said. “Be patient.”

The four of them sat for what felt like hours until, tentatively, the plant’s leaves began to dip backwards. The flower underneath was a deep blue, shot through with an array of gleaming silver that spread like veins. Under the light, the silver sparkled. Yuuri had seen this plant many times; he loved this part of the garden, and often came to study or spend time by himself near the blooms. Most days he would glance over to find that the leaves had uncovered the flower’s beauty despite Yuuri’s presence. It made Yuuri feel special, that he could encourage its reveal without even meaning to. The sight never got any less beautiful.

“Wow,” Victor breathed, and just like that, the plant’s leaves snapped to cover up the flower. The spell was broken. Yuuri snickered, and after a moment Victor also began to laugh at himself.

“Good job, Victor,” Yuri muttered.

From within Victor’s clothing came a shrill chirp. The plant curled in on itself farther. Reaching into his pocket, Victor pulled out a small communicator, peered at the screen, and sighed.

“Yakov,” he said, and showed the screen to Yuri. The symbols it displayed held no meaning for Yuuri, who assumed it was the same language that the Echeans had been speaking in the library. Yuri scoffed and looked down at the ground. Victor turned his easy smile to Yuuri and Phichit. “I’m sorry, but we have to go. Thank you for showing us the garden.”

Nodding even as his heart sank, Yuuri said, “That’s alright. We should go too.”

The four children headed back through the palace’s hallway, past the small library, and through the kitchens. They slipped back into the noisy banquet hall without a fuss. Placing themselves once again in line of sight of the guards, it was as if Yuuri and Phichit had never left at all. Only, unlike earlier, there was Yuri, standing next to Phichit with a sullen expression, and Victor, turning to Yuuri with a warm smile.

“Would you dance with me? It seems wrong to be at a gala and not have danced with anyone yet.”

Yuuri glanced around the well-lit hall, a thrill of nervous energy running up his spine. Victor wanted to dance with _him_? “Wasn’t someone looking for you?” he asked.

Victor shook his head. “He just wanted to make sure we were within eyesight. There’s still time for dancing.”

Instinctively, Yuuri looked to Phichit, who nodded his head emphatically. Accepting the hand that Victor offered, Yuuri let himself be swept onto the dance floor as one song ended and another one, softer, began. As if sensing how nervous Yuuri was, Victor kept them near to the edge of the shifting crowd.

“Do you want to lead?” Victor asked.

“No, it’s—you can if you want to,” Yuuri stammered out. He was suddenly grateful that dancing was something that he enjoyed, as he’d paid closer attention to those lessons than some of the others his parents had pushed him into. Victor moved their hands into the appropriate positions and then began to lead Yuuri at a leisurely pace, still wearing same warm expression.

As they danced, Yuuri became aware of the area that had been cleared around them. Small as it was, having so much free space to move was unusual for such a packed dance floor. The hall’s lights shimmered off of Victor’s multi-faceted skin, looking like magic to Yuuri’s eyes.

It was almost enough to distract Yuuri from the attention the two of them were getting.

“Why are people whispering?” Yuuri asked, lowering his voice so that only Victor could hear. “Are we doing something weird?”

Over Victor’s shoulder, Yuuri could see an Aebh delegate and a Jedyx representative muttering together, trying too conspicuously not to look like they were evaluating Victor’s and Yuuri’s every twist and turn. As a prince, Yuuri supposed that he should have been happy that people were getting along, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about being the subject of their discussion.

“Maybe they’re jealous,” Victor suggested, and then grinned. “We’re both very good dancers.”

Something about that explanation didn’t sit quite right in Yuuri’s mind, but at that moment, Victor took the opportunity to spin him. As he pulled Yuuri back into the circle of his arms, Yuuri felt laughter bubble out of him, helpless and genuine.

Victor met Yuuri’s gaze. “You’re very kind, for a Naelean,” he said, serious all of sudden. “I’d heard that Naeleans captured the stars, but it really does look like there’s a galaxy trapped in your eyes.”

It was—truthfully, a rather bizarre thing to say to someone. Yuuri knew that Victor was referring the deep colors of Yuuri’s eyes, surrounded by sparkles of light that really did look like stars. However, Yuuri was so used to his own eyes that it didn’t seem remarkable to him. Maybe Victor was just astounded to find something new to his own people; Yuuri had been staring at Victor’s holographic skin enough for the past hour. Yuuri decided he couldn’t really hold Victor’s strange words against him.

“Thank you,” he said, for lack of a better response.

“But…” Victor leaned closer, peering into Yuuri’s eyes. “Weren’t they a different color earlier? They’re pink now.”

“Probably because I’m embarrassed,” Yuuri admitted. “You know, after you said that stuff about galaxies in them.”

“They change color with what you’re feeling?”

Nodding, Yuuri peered up at his dance partner. Victor’s eyes hadn’t changed the entire time they’d been together. “Yours don’t?”

Victor shook his head. “No, but they change gradually as we get older. They become less clear.”

They were silent for a moment, mulling over the differences between their species. The world had always seemed vast to Yuuri, but learning more about Victor made it feel infinitely larger. What else was different between the two of them? Yuuri opened his mouth to ask. He closed it again as the song they’d been dancing to ended and another began. This song was more fast-paced, the rhythm boisterous and upbeat. Yuuri couldn’t keep an excited grin off of his face.

Victor raised an eyebrow, seeming hopeful. “One more?”

They danced to three more songs, until the whispers died down, and then to another two after that. By the time Victor called for a stop, Yuuri was out of breath and had decided that it was the most fun he’d ever had dancing before. Victor led him off to the sidelines of the crowd, a little ways away from the guards that had been instructed to keep an eye on Yuuri.

“I should probably find my family,” Victor told him, buzzing with the same joyful energy that Yuuri felt. He winked. “But if you ever need another dance partner, just let me know, alright?”

“I will,” Yuuri promised. Victor probably just needed a short break, but—then he’d be back, and he and Yuuri could dance again.

Victor gave Yuuri one last smile and then turned to disappear into the crowd. For the rest of the night, Yuuri stayed close to Phichit and kept an eye out for Victor, waiting for the Echean to return for another dance. When that failed to gather results, he started looking for Yuri, too. Through the ever-changing colors of the gala, there was no sign of distinctive holographic skin. When Yuuri asked one of the guards where the Echeans were, he learned that they had left the gala early.

By the end of the night, it was as if the Echeans had only been a part of a peaceful dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow leni on twitter: [@lenionice](https://twitter.com/lenionice).
> 
> Check out this [amazing artwork](https://twitter.com/katsugenki/status/875559787731091456) based off this chapter of the fic!
> 
> Don't forget to kudos and comment!


	2. Roses in the Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the start of the Naelean and Echean war, Yuuri and Victor meet once again. Their fates are sealed, there is only one way to peace.

_Six solar revolutions before the Naelean-Echean treaty._

Yuuri had just turned eleven when the war began. The details were blurry to him. From what he had been able to find out from the staff and accidental eavesdropping with Phichit, the Echeans had declared war on them for an interference somewhere in deep space.

His father did not like going to war, he knew this much. There were bags under his father’s eyes and his smiles never quite reached his eyes anymore. He was tired and stressed. At forty-three, his hair had begun to gray around the edges. His mother was no different.

 When he and Mari were younger, the Queen would travel around planet with them in tow. They could experience distinct cultures, because despite widely held belief, there were hundreds of diverse cultures on their planet. Their diversity was what had drawn the Queen to visit and experience the cultures firsthand. Instead of leaving her children to grow up with nannies and nurses, Queen Hiroko decided to raise her children without the aid of third parties. She wanted to prove to the planet that she was just like any other Naelean mother. While the King took care of business outside the planet or right in their own kingdom, Queen Hiroko traveled around the world with the Crown Princess and Prince by her side. Elegant as ever, she embraced motherhood and any culture she found interesting.

 Now though, at forty, she stayed within the castle walls. Usually she could be found in the library with Mari or in the garden with Yuuri, where they would tend the dozens of plants they had been gifted or brought back as souvenirs from other planets. Recently though, she’d found it difficult to leave the bedroom. When she did leave her chamber, she could be found in the study with her husband, worrying for the lives of those who had selflessly volunteered themselves to fight for their civilization. Her usual bright smiles and laughs that echoed in the halls of the vast castle had been silenced by the war.

 Six months went by before the King was forced to pass the first war draft.

The Echeans were gearing closer, soon enough they would invade Nael. Naeleans 18 and older were required to sign up for the war. Depending on their skills, they were placed in different sections of the war. Those who were skilled in combat were sent to the front lines, to the planet of the Echeans, Vallis. Those who specialized in technology would be sent off to space to defend the planet in case of an attack. Those who knew how to repair things would repair, those who knew how to build would build and so on. What had started as mere scrimmage between two opposing planets became a total war.

Another year and a half later and the Echeans began to invade.

At first it had been only a couple of unmanned rockets, mostly to scare the King. While no bombs or rockets were dropped, they definitely scared the King and the regions where the Echean rockets had been spotted. Gradually, the Echean king began to send his people aboard the rockets.

A couple of years passed before the first real invasion, and much to the King’s fear, his kingdom – his home, the place he had vowed to protect – had become another target to the Echean King.

* * *

 

Yuuri had begun to feel irritated at any mention of the war. He desperately wished for it to end. At fifteen, he had already lost three royal guards to the war. Due to their age, they had been called up to the frontlines to defend their planet. He mourned with the family of the one fallen guard he had befriended as a small child. Phichit, thankfully, would not have to serve in the war. Soon after Phichit’s thirteenth birthday, he had decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an advisor to the future Queen or King of Nael. His previous guards had always been his friends too. Yuuko and Takeshi. As soon as they had turned eighteen, they had volunteered to serve in the war.

They had been assigned to him right before the war began. They were fourteen and Yuuri’s eleventh birthday was just around the corner. Yuuko had been like another sister to him; she doted on him _and cared for him_ like a younger brother. Takeshi had been harder to crack. He was stern and rarely talked but Yuuko would make sure that they all became friends. Eventually, it did happen. When Yuuri had confessed his love for her, Yuuko had gently turned him down and explained that she and Takeshi were dating. Yuuri immediately apologized and that had been that. Where Yuuri was, Phichit, Takeshi and Yuuko followed. Not only because it had been their duties but because they all enjoyed the company of the crown prince.

When they told Yuuri they had decided on volunteering for the war, Yuuri had cried. He begged them to stay and to fulfill their plans of marriage and building a family. Yuuko had held him and explained that their duty was to protect him and the planet.

“It’s something we feel the need to do, Yuuri. Please understand us. We love you and our planet very much and if we do not serve, we may never have the family we want. We don’t want to raise our children on a planet raged with war,” Yuuko said, rubbing circles on Yuuri’s back as his tears turned into hiccups, “We’ll find good replacements for us, okay? Someone just as skilled as us and trustworthy. We are not leaving yet. Takeshi’s birthday is not until April and mine is in July so we’ll have plenty of time to find someone capable enough to take care of you and Phichit.”

Yuuri had nodded again and the conversation had been dropped.

Too soon, Yuuko’s birthday had arrived. They celebrated amongst themselves, sharing a small cake baked for them by the kitchen staff. The rainy season followed soon after, along with Takeshi’s birthday. They were both eighteen and would be leaving soon, Yuuri realized. Takeshi’s birthday was celebrated in an equivalent way except instead of a cake baked by the kitchen staff, they all decided to take a trip to the city and a café and bakery that Yuuri and his mother both enjoyed visiting when he was younger. Phichit had been unable to tag along, training hard with his father to become one of the best advisors for the future King, as he had put it once.

The playful atmosphere between the trio had vanished when Yuuko and Takeshi sat down across the table from him with somber expressions.

“We’ve found our replacements,” Yuuko said.

_Oh._

“They’ve graduated early from the academy,” Takeshi continued.

A tear slipped down his face.

“They’re young, but I think you’ll like them,” Yuuko concluded.

He quickly wiped his tears away and smiled brightly at them, “So who are they?”

Takeshi and Yuuko exchanged a concerned look but didn’t mention the way Yuuri’s voice seemed to tremble.

“Leo De La Iglesia and Minami Kenjirou. They’re only a year older than you but they’ve excelled at all of their tasks and have recently been certified to become guards. We’ve watched them and they’re the best the academy has to offer. If you approve, there’ll be a small ceremony like the one they had for us before we became your royal guards.” Yuuko smiled.

“When do I get to meet them?” Yuuri asked, taking a sip from the tea he’d ordered.

“When we get back to the castle, if you want,” Takeshi said, taking a bite from his slice of birthday cake.

“Okay,” Yuuri said, stealing a piece from Takeshi’s cake.

“Just ‘okay’? No tears, no begging us to not go and stay with you?” Takeshi asked, bewildered.

Yuuri saw him wince and presumed it was Yuuko’s doing. He giggled and explained that while it did make him sad that they were leaving, that he knew they would return safely and continue their lives as if the war had never happened.

“As long as you both promise to come back, I’ll forgive you for leaving me behind,” Yuuri teased with a watery smile.

That evening he met the two guards that were to replace his best friends. They idly chatted before the ceremony where they would officially be royal guards. Like Yuuko had said, Yuuri would come to befriend them.

At first, he saw this as a problem. Not that he didn’t want to befriend Leo and Minami. They were amazing friends to both him and Phichit. But rather, he was afraid that because they were younger than eighteen, they would leave him again. That they would see that their time could be better spent fighting a stupid war that his father didn’t want to fight but was forced to anyway. He hoped to never cross paths with the Echeans. His family and planet had suffered because of them.

 

* * *

 

The night of the attack, Yuuri had had trouble sleeping. He slipped out of his room and tiptoed outside to the rose garden gifted by the humans for Mari’s fifteenth birthday. Above him shone three moons of varying sizes: Jaelara, Eden and Atzlan. Each was named after a great warrior of Nael.

Whenever his anxiety became too much to bear, Yuuri sneaked out and stared up at the night sky, wondering what it was like to be in space. He still hadn’t traveled but he was fascinated with the idea of seeing the stars and other planets up close. He hadn’t even been to the moon yet. They were the closest objects to Nael and he still hadn’t visited them.

Sighing deeply, he sat on a swinging bench and began to doze off. That is, until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the rose bushels move. He stilled immediately, his sense on high alert for the cause of it. There was no breeze. If there had been, the other bushels would have moved as well. Minutes ticked by before the rustling was heard again. No animals were present on the castle grounds and those that were needed to be kept inside at all times. There was no simple explanation.

“Who’s there?” He called out in the direction of the movement.

Some shuffling was heard before a figure popped out in the distance. He was covered completely head to toe all except for a section where his eyes could be seen. Panic rose in Yuuri’s throat, this man was not from his planet. He took a deep breath before addressing the figure.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

The man raised his hands above his head and said, “I come in peace. Sort of.”

“Sort of?” Yuuri asked, trying hard to not tremble in fear.

“I do not carry a weapon with me. May I sit?” The stranger pointed to the open space next to Yuuri.

“No but you may approach,” Yuuri said in what he hoped was an authoritative voice.

The figure hesitated despite being the one asking to get closer. The man was taller than Yuuri, dressed in all black and walked gracefully as he got closer to the bench where Yuuri rested. By the way the man stared at the roses in curiosity, it was apparent the man was not familiar with the Earthly planet.

His suspicions were confirmed when the man gently caressed one on the bushel closest to Yuuri.

“What are they?” The man inquired, his attention still on the red flower.

“Roses.”

“Where are they from?”

“Earth.”

“Why are they here?” The stranger continued his inquiry.

“They were a gift from the humans. A birthday present for my sis – err, the crown princess.” Yuuri caught himself before revealing his identity.

This man was not from his planet, he knew this for three reasons. The first being his lack of acknowledgement for the prince. The only people who did not bow before him and called him “Your Highness” were his guards, Phichit and his family. The second was the accent the man spoke with. It was not common to hear accents like his on Nael. Very few planets had difficulty learning the universal language enough to speak with an accent. The third reason he knew this man was not from his planet was that the entire world had raged when the Earthly humans had gifted the roses to Mari. They were, by far, one of the most beautiful foreign flowers his planet had ever seen.

“Flowers fit for a future queen,” The stranger commented.

Yuuri nodded in agreement and watched the stranger try and pick a rose from the bushel.

“Wait – it has,” Yuuri tried to warn the man.

The man recoiled in pain as one of the thorns on the rose pricked him.

“Well then,” The man huffed.

“Are you hurt?”

“Ah, yes. Don’t worry. This is nothing compared to the war,” The man said bitterly.

The comment made Yuuri’s blood boil.

“The war? You’ve served?” Yuuri asked.

“Unfortunately.”

“Are you from Trelos?”

“Yes,” The man hesitantly responded.

“An ally then.”

The man nodded again.

“Thank you for your service,” Yuuri said softly, “Nael appreciates Trelos’s help.”

“Don’t thank me,” The man responded, “I had no choice in whether I wanted to join. My family forced me to.”

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri said sincerely, “I don’t know what it’s like but it must be difficult.”

“It is. A stupid war started by stupid people,” The stranger pointed to the empty spot next to Yuuri again, “May I sit now?”

“Yes, of course.”

The man took a seat before speaking, “Have you served?”

Yuuri shook his head, “I’m not old enough.”

The stranger turned to Yuuri, “How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“You’re pretty young. Hopefully, the war will be over before you turn eighteen.”

“I hope so, too,” whispered Yuuri.

“Have you been out there?” The stranger asked, his voice rougher than it had been minutes earlier.

Yuuri shook his head again.

“It’s a disaster,” The man said, a cold look on his face, “There are rocket parts everywhere. Bodies floating in zero gravity, suits torn open and flesh burned and rotten for being exposed to the harsh cold. I’ve watched so many of my men die, for a war without meaning. No one gains from this war. But everyone loses. It’ isn’t fair. These older generations are causing problems for the younger generations.”

“We have no say in it,” Yuuri commented somberly. He knew this. He’d tried to get his father to ask for a ceasefire, for some peace, but the Echean king hadn’t relented.

 _There’s nothing we can do_ , his father had said to him, _we can only fight back and hope for the best_.

“I’ll try to stop it. I don’t know how but I will,” The man said, his features hardening.

His misty eyes shone brightly in the moonlight. One of the only places not covered by the man’s suit. The bridge of his nose was also visible, the skin of it glowing dimly. He had never met a Trelosian before but the image of the man before him triggered a memory. One filled with hushed whispers, ballads and lots of dancing.

He couldn’t place the memory, it seemed faded with pieces missing. He remembered a garden, four young boys surrounding a Whislet and a gala. He couldn’t ever remember going to any gala, though. His parents were invited to many though he and Mari could never accompany them, much to Yuuri’s discontent.

The man blinked questioningly at Yuuri and it took a moment for him to realize the stranger had been asking him a question.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

The man chuckled, “That I –” He was interrupted by a screeching noise coming from his left pocket. This noise had sounded familiar to him as well. Where could he possibly have heard that before?

The man took out what looked to be a small communicator. His peaceful expression turned dark and afraid when he read whatever message had been posted. His movements turned frantic and he tried to stand from the bench.

“Is something wrong?” Yuuri asked concerningly.

“You have to get out of here,” The stranger said, trying to catch his breath, “You have to leave and evacuate everyone from the castle.”

“Why?!” Yuuri asked, the panic from before returning tenfold.

“The Echeans. They’ve invaded and are headed towards us right now. They plan to attack at dawn,” The man said, his grayish eyebrows creasing. “I’ll call for back up, for someone to escort you to safety. Please alert everyone. I don’t know how close my unit is or how far the army is from us. We only have a couple hours left.”

Yuuri felt his breath leave his lungs but he couldn’t feel it return. He was hyperventilating, he knew but he couldn’t help it. The panic was too much, his brain had ceased its function; thousands of thoughts ran across his mind, all too jumbled up to make sense of most of them. The strange man was holding his face, his mask rising just above his mouth so he could make out the words even if he couldn’t hear them through the roaring in his ears.

 _Look at me_ , he read from the man’s lips, _Breathe in. Breathe out._

Yuuri tried to do as the man said, but the tears forming in his eyes blinded him and his attempts failed. The man began wiping his tears for him, once again trying to get Yuuri to breathe with him. Yuuri tried again and again and again but the fear pooling in his stomach was fueling the panic in his chest and he couldn’t even breathe right.

The man was yelling, he’d pulled Yuuri into his chest and he could feel the bass of his voice against his cheek. It was grounding. The bass in his voice became melodic, a simple rhythm. Not one familiar to Yuuri but it was intriguing. He concentrated on it, following it and a thought broke through.

 _Breathe_ , his brain screamed at him. He gasped, the air collecting in his lungs. He let it go slowly, took a deep breath again and repeated. The humming continued and Yuuri heard it clearly for the first time. He sobbed into the man’s chest, the man pulling him closer and rubbing small circles on his back to keep him calm.

“Look at me,” The man said after a while of silence.

Yuuri removed himself from the stranger’s chest and looked at the man, his mask covering his mouth once again.

“Alert everyone, tell them they have to get out as soon as possible. My unit is on its way. We’ll take you and everyone else to safety. I’ll personally escort you out of the castle. No one will get hurt, everyone will be safe. Trust me.”

Yuuri wiped the remaining tears away and asked, “How will I know it’s you?”

The stranger blanked for a minute before turning to a bushel and cutting a rose bud. He pulled out some sort of pin and attached it to the end of the rose, pinning it safely to his suit.

“I’m the only one who knows about the roses okay? Meet me out here as soon as everyone’s been alerted. The King and Queen are on base with the Trelos King, so I assume they’re headed here for the Crown Prince and Princess. Warn them and the guards. We’ll surround the place and keep watch before the army gets here.” He hugged Yuuri before leaving the way he came.

Yuuri took a deep breath before returning to the castle. _They’re after me and Mari_ , he thought. _Of course, they are. Killing our soldiers isn’t enough, they have to come for me and Mari to really hurt father._

Yuuri ran faster than he’d ever before. He ran straight into the royal guards’ quarters and began pounding on their door.

“Leo! Minami!” He shouted as he knocked.

The two guards opened the door, sleepily rubbing their eyes.

“What is it, Yuuri?” Leo asked between yawns.

“The Echeans, the-they’ve invaded and they’re going to attack the castle. We have to evacuate everyone. They’re after Mari and me,” Yuuri stammered frantically.

He knew better than to panic now. The stranger was counting on him. His and so many other lives were at stake right now, there was no time to lose.

Leo looked startled by what Yuuri had said, the sleep leaving his body almost at once.

“Yuuri,” Minami said, looking to Leo, “How do you know this?”

Yuuri hadn’t known what to tell them, he hadn’t had time to form a lie so he told them the truth. Leo and Minami were skeptical at first. They weren’t sure if the person who Yuuri had met was real, let alone to trust the man.

“We have nothing to lose, Leo. We split off to different bases or we go on different paths, they can’t harm us all. My sister and I need your help. Please, this is your job. Trust me on this.”

By this time, most of the royal guards had been awoken from their sleep. They all took into deep consideration what could’ve happened if the man had been telling the truth. Dawn was only a couple of hours away, could they possibly evacuate and take all their staff to safety? On the other hand, if the man had been lying, what could be the results of abandoning the castle? Yuuri began to question the man’s presence. Why had he even been in the garden?

A frantic call from the King’s base made the deciding move; the man had not been lying. The Echean army had infiltrated a blind spot on one of the outer ports just outside the planet. Their entire base had been slaughtered in order to get into the planet. The Echeans showed no mercy in murdering every person on the base. Yuuri vowed to do the same if he ever crossed paths with anyone from Vallis.

There had been only one detail that the stranger had missed. Their plan had been to finish their attack before dawn. Their three hours before dawn, the time they could have used to safely evacuate everyone was turned into forty minutes.

The explosions were first.

They shook the entire case, chunks of stone falling from the roof above them, knocking people unconscious. What had originally planned to be a safe and calm evacuation became a full-blown panic from everyone inside the castle. People were yelling and calling out for their loved ones and friends, children of the staff were crying. Everything became significantly worse when the Echean soldiers blew a wall to enter the castle.

Yuuri had remembered he’d been standing, asking for people to calm down and to exit when the explosion blasted him and several others near him into a wall that was nowhere near him at the time. Perhaps it was the adrenaline but he hadn’t felt pain at the time. He recovered almost instantaneously. He tried to walk but his legs wouldn’t move. He looked over to where his legs were and a large piece of stone pinned his leg to the floor. He was too weak to move it himself, the adrenaline began to wear off and all he was left with was a bone deep tiredness.

His mind was racing, trying to remember where he was, who was with him and who was not. Who he had safely evacuated and who he had yet to help. His vision had been clouded by yet another explosion not too far from him.

He could hear in the distance shots ringing out. Who they belonged to, he had no idea. He continued to lay on the debris covered floor when a shout for his name echoed in the hall.

“Yuuri! Where are you?! Yuuri, please answer me!” The voice sobbed. One he could easily recognize as his sister’s.

“Here! Mari, I’m here!” He called out to her, his lungs wheezing.

“Yuuri! Tell me where you are!”

“Here!” He continued to shout back at his sister.

After several minutes of silence, Mari finally reached him. She helped lift the large piece of stone trapping Yuuri’s legs. Thankfully, he hadn’t suffered much damage. Leo and Minami had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and were helping Yuuri out of the building when a large man appeared before them.

His purple skin glistened menacingly in the moonlight. It shone with various colors popping from it. Like with the stranger in the garden, this image brought forth memories of a ballroom, a hand around his waist and a night full of giggles. More images were popping into Yuuri’s head but they were interrupted by the shots that rang from the man’s gun. The stranger had been right, though Yuuri never doubted him; the Echeans were after Mari and him.

Many other Echean soldiers appeared behind the large man, aiming their guns at them as well.

“Run!” Leo prompted Mari and Yuuri as he and Minami turned and fired back at the Echeans.

He and Mari didn’t hesitate to follow his instructions, running for the nearest exit. In that moment, Yuuri had remembered the promise the stranger in the garden had made to him. Yuuri stopped in his tracks, forcing Mari to stop with him.

“Yuuri, what are you doing?! We have to leave!” Mari shouted at him.

“The man, he’s waiting in the garden. Mari, we have to go to the garden. He’s the one who warned me about the attack. He’ll take us to the base!” Yuuri took Mari by the hand and ran towards the garden.

The man had promised to protect them. At this point, he didn’t care to reveal his identity, he trusted that Minami and Leo would take care of the Echeans and that they’d meet up at the base and that they’d meet up with his father and that the war would eventually end. It had to end. All wars came to an end and this one was well on its way there.

Yuuri and Mari were just a couple feet from the garden exit when a shot rang out from his left. Mari fell to the floor with a pained cry, blood seeping from her leg. Two other shots rang out and the Echean man fell over with a gurgling noise. He clutched at his throat, a magenta liquid gushing from the wound. Footsteps ran towards him and he closed his eyes.

This is how I die, huh, he thought. I’m sorry I couldn’t do better, father.

He was lifted from the ground in a swift movement and crushed against someone’s chest. It took him a moment to register the arms around him but despite only being in them once, he knew well. The stranger had come to his rescue.

Mari lay on the floor with another man dressed in the same all black suit as the stranger standing over her.

“Can you stand?” He asked softly, crouching down next to her.

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

The man took off his mask and ripped it into ribbons.

“Chris!” Yuuri’s saviour called out to the man.

“It’s fine,” The man answered, “They won’t recognize us.”

There had been another implication in that statement but Yuuri was suddenly too tired to question it.

The man, Chris as his saviour had called him, took one of the ripped ribbons, spat on it and tied it around Mari’s wounded leg. She hissed in pain, biting her lip to keep from screaming.

“I’m gonna pick you up, okay? Try not to move your leg so much or it’ll continue hurting. The anesthetic will take a few minutes to kick in, okay? We’ll take you to the base.” Chris looked over to Yuuri, “You’re going to be okay.”

Yuuri nodded sleepily, still clutching the unnamed stranger. The stranger chuckled and looked down at Yuuri, “If we wanna get out of here, you’ll need to let go, alright?”

Yuuri immediately took a step back and blushed, “I’m sorry.”

“No need to be cutie, you can cling to me all you want. Let’s just wait until we get into the vehicle,” The stranger said, winking at Yuuri.

Chris cleared his throat, breaking the moment.

“Your friend is wounded, she needs medical help. The sooner we get to the base, the better. Let’s go lovebirds,” He teased with a knowing smirk.

The stranger let out a laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation. They had somehow made it through explosions and gunshots. His sister was wounded but she didn’t feel pain. Things would be okay.

Or so he thought.

When they got to the transportation vehicle, Mari began to drift in and out of consciousness. Her moans filled the transport, any sudden movement the vehicle would bring out a new cry. She began sweating and shivering. Chris looked on worried, his anesthetic hadn’t worked on her.

Her wound wouldn’t stop bleeding either. A pool of it soaked the seat where her leg rested. The stranger’s driving became frantic when Chris leaned over and whispered something to him. Yuuri couldn’t catch what he said but it did not look good. Mari’s screams rose in volume, and Yuuri began to panic once more.

“She’ll be okay, right?” He asked Chris, who continued to spit on her wound.

“No,” Chris admitted, “I’m a Nubla from the planet Rimuk. My spit is supposed to be an anesthetic. We’re one of the best healers in the galaxy. I’m not trained for it but it should have been enough to keep her out of pain. The wound won’t stop bleeding. She needs attention now but we’re still half an hour out from the nearest base.”

Tears clouded Yuuri’s vision. The panic filled his throat again, but dread was what kept most of the panic down.

“Will she make it?” He asked, worried for the response.

Chris bit his lip before replying honestly, “I’m not sure.”

Yuuri let out a sob and held on to his sister. She couldn’t die. They were so close to being safe, now was not the time for something like this.

The stranger kept driving at a high speed, cutting the time by ten minutes. Their arrival at the base had been a blur. He remembered the base medics taking Mari from Chris’ arms. He remembered being taken to a nurse, his cuts and bruises being cleaned. He remembered being forced to drink tea to calm his nerves. He remembered standing outside the operating room, waiting to hear news from his sister. He remembered asking the nurses where the two men who had brought them there had gone, remembered their responses being they had left.

He remembered feeling empty, and yet not. He remembered being told his sister had not made the operation. He remembered being pricked with something and then total darkness. He remembered everything. He wished he didn’t.

 

* * *

 

When Yuuri woke up, his parents were resting in chairs by him. He’d been placed on an I.V, oxygen tubes around his face and his torn nightwear had been replaced by a medical gown. He sat up and his parents were at by his bedside in an instant.

“Yuuri, dear, how are you feeling?” His mother asked softly.

Tears streamed down his face when everything came back to him.

“Please tell me it was a dream,” He whispered to his mom.

The Queen broke down to tears again, shaking her head, “No, Yuuri. It’s not.”

“I’m so sorry,” His father said, tears streaming down his face, “I’m gonna end this. No one else will have to die. I promise you this. I won’t leave you alone anymore. I’m going to end this if it’s the last thing I do as king of Nael.” The king wiped his tears and left the room, guards on his heel.

A few days passed, his mother didn’t leave his side. He’d been reunited with Phichit, Leo and Minami. They refused to leave his side as well. They were in a conference room when one of his father’s advisors ran into the room.

“The Echean king has answered your plea of peace,” The young woman said.

A look of relief passed by his father’s features.

“But,” The woman started, “He has one condition.”

Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for the next statement.

“What is it?” The king asked, standing from his seat.

“They’ll sign a peace treaty on the condition that the crown prince marries their prince. They want to arrange a marriage for the peace of the four planets involved in the war.”

“Absolutely not!” Shouted the king, face red with anger, “They’ve murdered my daughter and now they want my son? I’d rather continue this war than to marry my son to those heathens.

Yuuri stood in his spot and said, “I’ll do it. For my planet, my people. My sister.”

His parents and everyone in the room cried out in rage.

“You can’t possibly be serious, Yuuri,” Phichit remarked.

“I am. If this is the only way for the war to end, I’m willing to sacrifice my happiness. Too many people have died, have been affected by this stupid war. I promised I’d find a way to end this war. I’ve made my choice, father. Let me do this. I’m the future king of Nael. It is my duty.” Yuuri stared his father in the eyes.

The king stared back, eyes filled with too many emotions. Pride, sadness, grief. He took a deep breath before addressing the room.

“The future king of Nael has spoken,” he said, turning to the young advisor, “Tell him we agree but that he must respect our law. No marriages under the age of twenty-one. We shall wait until he is of age to be married. If he declines, then we will attack full force. Trelos has agreed to bring in another ally, Seung-Gil, their prince has been arranged to marry someone from Tellegh. Let him know we will avenge the fallen princess. We will show no mercy like they did us.”

The advisor nodded and turned back to the control room. The room was dead silent after her departure.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” The king said to Yuuri.

“For Mari,” Yuuri answered, tears staining his face once more, “May you rest in peace, Princess of Nael.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter: [@umelovemail](https://twitter.com/umelovemail)
> 
> Check out this [amazing artwork](https://twitter.com/neyderlands/status/875565970210738176) based off this chapter of the fic!
> 
> Don't forget to kudos and comment!


	3. Everything is Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war has finally ended, Yuuri has sacrificed himself for the cause. As the future king of Nael, he promises to bring peace to his home. Destiny has a funny way of finding you.

_Two months before the Naelean-Echean treaty._

 

Yuuri will turn 21 in two months and up to now, he’s never traveled.  
  
“Don’t worry,” his mother says before he boards the spacecraft, holding his hands. She rubs her thumb against his knuckles. “It’ll be ok. The ride will be smooth, it won’t be as bad as you think. The wedding will be okay, too. Everything.” She smiles and maybe she believes it. “Everything’ll be okay.”  
  
Yuuri doesn’t. Everything will go badly, he’ll make everything worse and King Yakov will take it out on his planet again.  
  
He smiles back, bringing her hands up for a kiss. “I hope so,” he says lightly and let his hands drop to his sides. He turns to his father, who’s standing by his mother, her side tucked comfortably against his. His smile is a bit somber, and it doesn’t reach his eyes. Yuuri’s heart burns just looking at him.  
  
Biting his lip, Yuuri holds out his arms for a hug.  
  
His father smiles and steps forward to bring him into his arms. He’s warm and soft and Yuuri brings him closer to bury his face in his thinning hair. His hands curl into the fur of his cape. Before he knows it, he’s shaking and muffling sobs and everything hurts. He’ll miss them and he misses Mari and he feels so alone, even if he knows he’s loved, even if he knows he’s got people by his side, who support him.  
  
He can’t help it.  
  
(He doesn’t want to leave; he’s scared of the Echean king and he knows that if he says one wrong word, he’ll send missiles for his planet, even if marrying his only son to bring peace to their planets was his idea. He just knows it.)  
  
“Shhh, there there,” his father whispers. “We’ll miss you too.”  
  
It’s not that, he wants to say. But he really will miss them, so much.  
  
He whimpers and presses further closer to him when his mother joins the hug, sandwiched between them both.  
  
His hands shake and he tightly closes his eyes.  
  
His stomach’s turning and it feels like he can’t breathe no matter how many deep breaths he takes in.  
  
“Yuuri?” Phichit calls a few minutes later, sounding apologetic. “Sorry, but Leo said you should hurry, we’re about to take off…”  
  
He pulls away from his parents and takes in a shuddering breath, his eyes still pinched shut. “I’m coming, don’t worry.”  
  
His father kisses his cheek. “Stay safe out there, ok?”  
  
“I will.” Yuuri gives him a watery smile. He doesn’t want to know what he looks like right now. A mess.  
  
His mother smiles back, pats his shoulder. “We’ll miss you so much, ok?”  
  
“Yeah.” His throat closes up again and he feels the fresh onslaught of tears already building. “I’ll- I’ll miss you too. I gotta go now, ok? I’ll see you in two months.”  
  
“See you.” They wave and Yuuri stares at them for a moment, wistfully (he wanted to stay here, ok, wished the war had never happened because since then, his family had never experienced happiness even once). He wipes at his eyes and turns around, his robes dragging across the floor.  
  
Every step feels heavy as lead.  
  
The door closes after him when he enters and all he can do is watch their silhouettes slowly blur into nothing when they take off.  
  
Phichit holds him close until he falls asleep, curled up while the spacecraft zooms past the stars and planets as fast as it can.

 

* * *

  
The trip lasts for only a few hours but it feels like weeks.  
  
(Thought Yuuri wouldn’t know since he’s slept through most of it)  
  
Yuuri stirs when Phichit shakes him awake, groggy. “Yuuri,” Phichit whines. “You’re drooling all over my suit.”  
  
Yuuri groans and yawns, then moves to stretch his sore muscles. “How long have we…?”  
  
“Just a few hours.” Phichit nudges him. “We’re here.”  
  
“Really? Feels like I slept for weeks…” He murmurs and covers his mouth for a yawn. He can’t even look properly, squinting instead through his glasses. The spacecraft isn’t buzzing with life anymore, and Leo and Minami are starting to approach them again.  
  
Oh. Right.  
  
He glances out the window.  
  
Vallis is far more beautiful than Yuuri could have ever imagined is what he sees.  
  
Or, at least, its palace.  
  
Yuuri blinks and leans in to get a closer look.  
  
The castle is even taller than theirs, crystal and it gleams so beautifully under the light reflected from its moons (four, only one more than their own). It has these colorful domes over the towers - they’re a kaleidoscope of colours, and they’re unlike anything Yuuri’s ever seen.  
  
His father always told him that Echeans have an interesting culture.  
  
Their architecture was one of the most beautiful in the world, he said.  
  
He sees what he meant now.  
  
“Mmm, this thing is so huge,” Phichit marvels with sparkling eyes as he leans his face against the window as much as possible. “I bet it’s beautiful inside, too.”  
  
Yuuri eyes him and gently tugs on his pointed ear. “You’re drooling all over the window,” he says and grins at him.  
  
“What Yuuri said,” Leo says and when Yuuri turns back to him, he’s grinning from ear to ear. “It’s disgusting, Phichit.”  
  
Phichit pulls back and sticks out his tongue. “Whatever,” he says lightly and tugs on Yuuri’s hand. “Are you ready?”  
  
Oh, he thinks and his heart stutters in his chest. He looks back out the window while the door huffs open.  
  
“Of course,” he says and slowly gets on his feet. Minami steadies him when he stumbles and he sheepishly thanks him.  
  
It’s just the long journey, that’s it.

 

* * *

  
  
When they get to the grand entrance, there are three guards waiting for them, each with steel armors and blank looks on their face but one.  
  
She’s a guard too, no doubt about that - she’s wearing the armour, after all, but she looks relaxed, less likely to reach for the weapon strapped to her waist after one wrong move. Her hair is short and curly, and she smiles at them when they arrive, Phichit, Leo and Minami all surrounding Yuuri while a small line of Naelean guards march right behind them.  
  
“Hello, welcome to Vallis, your highness.” She bows before him. “I’m Mila, Prince Victor’s personal guard and I’ll be your guide for the day. If there’ll be anything you need, feel free to come find me.” She straightens up, smiles and beckons them with her finger. “Follow me.”  
  
“She seems nice,” Phichit whispers as they move after her, the large door groaning open with little-to-no-difficulty as she pushes it.  
  
“She does,” he whispers, smiling softly. His chest feels lighter now, somehow, especially with such a, not exactly warm but still kind welcome.  
  
(He still knows he’ll mess something up and then King Yakov will get so mad he’ll make his planet pay for it.)  
  
She leads them down a wide hall, walls painted white. There are portraits hanging off each side and the carpet beneath his feet is plush velvet. The ceilings are all painted so beautifully too, with star and bird motifs, a bit like the ceilings at home, with their hundreds of flowers over them.  
  
Yuuri is in awe just looking at everything.  
  
(His heart still feels a bit heavy though, but by this point, it’s become easy to ignore.)

* * *

  
  
Mila’s nice, Yuuri decides after she patiently explained all their wedding traditions to him.  
  
He can only hope Victor Nikiforov is nice, too.  


* * *

  
  
_Hours before the Naelean-Echean treaty signing._

Yuuri presses a hand against the mirror and smiles. His reflection, regal in Naelean wedding robes, smiles back and the galaxies in his eyes shine a tranquil blue.  
  
It’s finally the day, he thinks. It’s finally going to be okay.  
  
He says it out loud, just so he can let it sink in. Just so he can let himself believe it.  
  
After so many rough years - bloodshed and families torn apart and starving children losing their homes and parents - it’s so hard to take in. He looks and looks at his reflection in the mirror and he can’t help but wonder.  
  
Is him taking the Vallis prince’s hand in marriage all it takes to end this misery?  
  
Could this have been solved so much sooner?  
  
(No, because the laws of his planet strictly forbid marriage before the ripe age of twenty-one; his family’s glad the Vallis King and Queen agreed to wait that long)  
  
He tugs on the soft material of his robes - and they’re so beautiful, a brilliant purple, swimming in waves of sakura flowers, with slim sleeves, that tickled at his wrists and the underside painted golden- and sighs.  
  
It’s his 21st birthday, and he’s walking down the altar at precisely the time he was born and he’s still waiting to experience the joy he’s been promised.  
  
His eyes still shine dark blue.  
  
Maybe it’s just the fact he knows nothing of the prince he’s marrying - just that his name is Victor Nikiforov and that his family has cursed his planet with grief and poverty and war.  
  
He wonders, faintly, if Victor is feeling the same at the altar.  
  
“I do,” he says softly to the empty chamber. “I do.”  
  
His voice whispers through the space.  
  
In such a small room, no one can hear him but himself.  
  
The door whispers open and Phichit - his best friend of so many years - steps inside, whistles when he sees him. Yuuri smiles and he sees, in the mirror, his eyes turn lighter, gentler. Azure. “Wow, you look amazing.”  
  
“Thanks.” He fiddles with the clasps of his dark blue and gold cape. “Is it time yet?”  
  
“Five more minutes.” Phichit closes the door behind himself and waves around the velvet blindfold he’s brought with him. “How are you feeling?”  
  
“Nervous,” he admits and turns away from the mirror to look at him. His cape drags across the floor. “Terrified. But I’m ready. I need to do this.”  
  
Phichit’s smile is somber. If it’s usually the sun, today it’s, if Yuuri had to name it, the rainy clouds he sees whenever he goes down to the Earth for meetings with his parents. It’s cold. It’s wrong. Yuuri wants to turn it up the edges.  
  
He knows Phichit’s scared for him.  
  
But he needs to see him smile.  
  
Please smile, he wants to say. I’ll be okay.  
  
“Do you want a hug?” Phichit asks.  
  
Yuuri shakes his head. “No… Sorry, I don’t think I can be touched right now.” He smiles apologetically. “Thanks for asking, though.”  
  
Phichit nods and walks closer. His robes are golden - they’re traditional Naelean robes, Yuuri notes - and they shimmer faintly under the light of the chandelier. Yuuri bows his head and lets him tie the blindfold over his eyes.  
  
When he faces forward again, his world is dark and bleak.  
  
“Hold onto my hand,” Phichit says and carefully takes his hand, the one where a ring will sit in only minutes, as cold as his future (and probably even husband).  
  
It’s okay. Yuuri can take it. It’s for the good of his people.  
  
They’ve rehearsed this walk so many times all the turns are almost done by instinct; Yuuri doesn’t crash into that one wall that bulges out anymore, doesn’t trip on the red carpet rolled plush near the entrance to the chapel just outside their castle. It sits between the crystal entrance and the twenty-one stairs up to the chapel.  
  
Yuuri’s grip tightens when he feels it under his feet.  
  
His mother greets him and Yuuri almost bursts into tears just from hearing her voice.  
  
“Hello, your Majesty,” Phichit says softly - there’s chatter, faint and unclear, coming from the insides, and he can hear the instruments play a soft melody to entertain the guests.  
  
He danced to this song once, Yuuri realizes. It’s not a happy realization.  
  
He wonders, faintly, what happened to the little boy with moonlight hair and clear eyes and the soft hands and the heart-shaped smile and laugh like coruscating crystals of champagne his parents had spilled past their lips that day.  
  
“Are we early?” Phichit whispers.  
  
It’s Leo who answers this time, “No, just in time. There’s less than one minute left.” He addresses Yuuri. “How are you feeling?”  
  
“I’m fine,” he lies with an easy smile. (He’s not fine. His heart feels like it’s going to burst and he might be sick) “Thanks for asking. Hey, mom, I missed you so much.”  
  
“Oh darling,” she says softly and Yuuri knows she’s smiling. It makes him feel a bit calmer. “I missed you too, so much.” She takes his hand when Phichit lets go. Her hand is smaller than his, thicker - her fingers are really short and probably barely wrap around his wrist. His chest feels warm and he smiles, leans against her and takes a deep breath.  
  
“You look beautiful, by the way,” Minami says as Phichit steps away from him “The robes are perfect on you.”  
  
“You’re too sweet,” he whispers and smiles back at him.  
  
And then the wedding march starts - the violin and piano - and the heavy door he knows stands tall and grand before them grunts open. His mother’s grip tightens and Yuuri’s not sure who’s hands are sweaty, his own or hers but either way, he’s glad he’s not wearing silk gloves on his person.  
  
They walk down the plush carpet in time with the music. Every step they take echoes through the room, and it echoes in his ears.  
  
His heart jumps in his throat when his foot touches the first stair, and then the second and third, until the music quiets and he can hear his every breath loud in the small chapel, where he knows only his and Victor’s grandparents, he learned. (The king once had a daughter who gave birth to a boy. She died after the birth and her husband had died of heartbreak. Victor grew up with his grandparents. The king was his grandfather, not his father, like Yuuri originally thought.) She waited along with Victor closest servants and personal guard. The people of their planets have the wedding broadcasted to them in the city.  
  
The priest’s voice is scratchy when he starts speaking. Faintly, Yuuri can feel someone moving next to him - a sleeve brushing against his exposed palm.  
  
Victor.  
  
Yuuri licks his lips and decides to focus on the words he’s saying - about peace and union of the Planets, about sacristy of marriage and how it’ll serve as a footstool to a new era for them both.  
  
“And now you, Yuuri Katsuki, and you, Victor Nikiforov, shall exchange vows,” the priest says after far too long. So long his skin’s already tingling, his insides already a mess of nerves.  
  
This is suddenly becoming way, way too real.  
  
His mother’s hands touch his hair as she takes off his blindfold. Yuuri blinks his eyes open to the familiar sight of the golden arch just above the altar contrasting the plain white walls, the wrinkled old priest in gallant robes and a large statue of two figures kissing near the ceiling just behind him.  
  
And then, he turns around to face his husband.  
  
His hair flashes moonlight, his skin porcelain, reflecting pinks and blues and greens, and his eyes are milky, with the tiniest bit of blue peaking through. He’s regal and _breathtaking_ in a light blue robe with a silver belt and embroidery, his hair short and curled and sparkling like specks of stardust floating through space.  Yuuri wasn’t expecting to marry someone this beautiful.  
  
Victor eyes widen when he sees him, and his cheeks turn brighter, reflect the light of the chandelier.  
  
He’s beautiful but Yuuri keeps being reminded just what his family had done every time he looks over to his parents - his mother’s face close to tears and his father holding her close - and his sister isn’t there to grin back at him.  
  
Yuuri doesn’t know what else to do but smile faintly back at him as the priest’s voice drones through the big space and their hands mesh together like they’re supposed to.  
  
Victor’s hand is cold and like holding a smooth crystal.  
  
Yuuri’s hand shakes a bit in his hold.  
  
And this isn’t just Victor Nikiforov, a prince from the planet that had murdered his sister.

It’s Victor, the stranger from the rose garden – the one who warned him that tragic night, the one who held him through his panic attack, who recused him and Mari. The same man whose eyes triggered the memory from the ball.

It’s Victor, the boy from the ball - the one whose cousin broke his family’s vase, the one who wanted to see the garden, the one who listened to him babble with such rapt attention, the one with the heart-shaped smile and clear smile and the high-pitched laugh, that snorts at the end.

He didn’t think he’d ever see him again.  
  
He’s not sure if he wants to laugh or cry anymore.  
  
“Victor,” he breaths and his eyes widen. Victor’s eyes do the same.  
  
“Yuuri Katsuki…” His smile stretches wide.  
  
Yuuri’s throat eases up and he feels like he can breathe again.  
  
Oh, he thinks and smiles back.  
  
And his family still caused grief and destruction, still cursed his planet with war and gave his father a scar across his chest and gave him and his sister countless sleepless nights. He can’t just forget that.  
  
Victor’s hands reach out and they take his in a gentle grip as the priest stalks talking, his voice echoing from wall to wall. They give a little squeeze.  
  
He squeezes back.  
  
  
But maybe they can work through it.  
  
They have more than ten years’ worth of time to catch up on and they have the rest of their lives for their wounds to at least stitch up (because some won’t ever heal).  
  
“I, Yuuri Katsuki,” he repeats after the priest, “-give myself to thee and thy kingdom Vallis. With this marriage, may our planets unite in peace,”  
  
Victor gulps. Somehow, his eyes never leave Yuuri’s.  
  
He wonders what colours his galaxies are right now.  
  
Are they still blue? Or did they melt into a soft pink, maybe green?  
  
He wants to know but somehow, the answer scares him.  
  
“I, Victor Nikiforov,” Victor says too, softer, “- give myself to thee and thy kingdom Nael. With this marriage, may our planets unite in peace.”

“I pronounce you both married,” The priest says, turning to someone just off his line of sight, “May we have the treaty?”

The woman Phichit had suspected of being in a relationship with Mila comes before them and pulls two pens from her pocket. She smiles warmly at them and hands each of them a pen, setting the peace treaty between them. They quickly sign their names in their native alphabet and that concludes the long-awaited peace between the rivaling planets.  
  
The priest claps his hands and summons everyone’s attention.

“The newlyweds may now kiss.”

Yuuri gulps and wets his lips, stands on his tiptoes and wraps his arms around Victor’s neck to pull him down for a gentle kiss.  
  
Victor’s hands find his hair and weave through it just before they part.

“Congratulations, you two.” Behind Victor stood an elegant woman in a gorgeous gown, her hair a perfect bun on the top of her head. Despite her words, her expression is carefully blank.  
  
“Thank you,” Yuuri says and smiles at her.

She stares at him for a moment before turning away, a small smile and nod in his direction. Yuuri isn’t sure what just happened but he feels as if he’s won her approval. Victor later tells him that the woman is the current queen of Vallis.

 

* * *

  
  
The reception happens in a big ballroom, with glistening chandeliers and beautiful frescoes all over the ceilings. The curtains are closed over the balconies. The musicians are only now preparing to start off the evening.  
  
Yuuri is talking to Yuuko and Takeshi when Victor approaches him, gently touches his shoulder. “It’s time for our opening dance,” he murmurs into his ear and smiles when Yuuri shivers under his warm breath.  
  
“Right, uhh.” He blinks and puts his champagne glass on the table. “Let’s go then.” He bows to his friends then reaches for Victor’s hand as they walk towards the middle of the dance floor.  
  
Everyone has already created a circle around them so Yuuri puts one hand on Victor’s shoulder, Victor’s own touching his waist. The music starts - it’s soft and serene and Yuuri smiles a bit as they start swaying in time with it.  
  
“Do you remember?” Victor says softly, with a small smile on his face. “This song was playing when we came back to the ball.”  
  
“You remember that?” He laughs softly. “I only remember the song we danced to.” He grips tightly onto him as he’s spun around a bit. “It’s beautiful though.”  
  
“Just like you.” Victor hums and grins down at him.  
  
Yuuri feels himself flushing. “Shush, I’m not…”  
  
“Your eyes are yellow, do you know that?” Victor smiles and pokes his side a bit. “What does that mean?”  
  
Yuuri blinks. “They are?”  
  
“Mhm.” Victor hums. “What does it mean?”  
  
It means I’m happy, he should have said because it’s true. It’s only for a short while but it’s the most stress-free he’s felt in so long, since the war started, since he lost his sister.  
  
And the person who makes him happy is the son of the people who made all that happen.  
  
“I don’t know, I think tranquil,” Yuuri says instead and he’s the one spinning Victor this time for the last move of this one dance.  
  
They still have a lot of them to go through in their life time, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow Emma on Twitter: [@chuarebeautiful](https://twitter.com/chuarebeautiful)
> 
> Check out this [amazing artwork](https://twitter.com/ladyegcake/status/875507176139304964) based off this chapter of the fic!
> 
> Don't forget to kudos and comment!

**Author's Note:**

> I know you guys must have a TON of questions regarding this AU, what happened in the past/future, what about "X" character, etc.
> 
> If you have any questions, please feel free to tweet [@umelovemail](https://twitter.com/umelovemail)! Or on Tumblr [here](https://akaashibokvto.tumblr.com)!
> 
> I've already answered many questions in the comments but they've gotten a tad lengthy so feel free to check them out, even if you don't have questions! Tidbits of the universe I created with my teammates are mentioned in some comments!


End file.
